The image sent to the rest of the world is of a violent nation that hates foreigners, particularly African. This of course is completely unrelated to reality.
It is critical that all of us listen to our people’s deep-seated frustrations and anger. Society is exhausted by an economy barely growing fast enough to keep pace with population growth, let alone able absorb hundreds of thousands of young people entering it annually. We have one of the world’s highest unemployment rates at 43.7% and subsequently entrenched levels of poverty and inequality.
Whilst our challenges are many, we remain the economic hub for the Southern African region and much of the continent. We cannot continue to remain a relative island of prosperity in an ocean of poverty.
The marches have come and gone, and largely peacefully. For this we must be thankful, in particular to our hardworking men and women in the police.
What we cannot afford to do is to ignore the genuine calls of the marchers and society, in particular the working class. The burning fires remain and need urgent action to resolve them.
First is the crisis of unemployment. No society can be proud or safe if four out of ten citizens cannot find work, let alone a decent, permanent job. 62% plus youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb.
Tackling unemployment must be our single most important focal point as government, business, labour and society. Once people have jobs, then many of our pressing socio-economic crises will begin to ease.
To create jobs, then we need to unlock the economy from the anemic 1% it’s been stagnating at for more than a decade to the 3% plus needed. This means assisting Eskom and municipalities to make electricity affordable for working class families, businesses and industries once again. It means expediting our investments in rail, ports, roads, water, airports and other essential economic infrastructure.
It requires making it easier for SMMEs and investors to establish businesses and to make finance accessible and affordable for SMMEs, particularly in townships and rural areas.
The private sector needs to come to the party by creating jobs, including engaging workers and unions on alternatives to retrenchments.
Employers need to pay workers a living wage. This is key to ensuring workers are able to buy the food, shelter and medicine needed to be healthy and productive but also to feel valued and motivated. It is equally critical for economic growth for workers to be paid a decent salary and become shareholders so they can afford to buy the goods that businesses need to sell.
Employers need to prioritise hiring young South Africans. All too often we have seen employers exploit the desperation of undocumented migrant labour, violate their labour rights and immigration laws. This will be the fuse that lights future fires if not dealt with.
Part of the anger of the marches is about the state of public and municipal services. When communities experience the decline of water and sanitation infrastructure with sewerage leaking onto roads in townships, why should we be shocked when they protest?
When workers spend days queuing at Home Affairs or in hospitals for the most elementary of services, why would they not be despondent?
Whilst there is much we must all be angry about, we must equally appreciate and welcome the real progress we have made as a society since 1994 under successive African National Congress administrations rolling out public services to working class communities to alleviate poverty and inequality and over the past few years to overcome the load shedding that devastated the economy, to rebuilding other state-owned enterprises, and to begin to dismantling the state capture networks that bleed the state of badly needed resources.
Equally we must be honest about our unacceptable levels of crime and what needs to be done to fix them.
As with fixing other parts of the state, we must ensure that our law enforcement institutions have competent leadership, that frontline vacancies are filled and critical skills recruited, and that the staff and institutions have the resources needed to win this war. The marches took place precisely because society is losing faith in the capacity of the state to enforce the rule of law. That is a very dangerous place to be in for any society.
We must unequivocally reject any form of xenophobia, racism or discrimination. We know what these demons mean better than any other nation. We lived under apartheid. That is not who we are nor must ever be.
We must equally demand that everyone in South Africa, citizen or non-citizen, must obey by all our laws at all times. Migration must be managed and cannot be a free for all. Neither can South Africa carry the burden of providing jobs for an entire region or continent. We owe our loyalty first to South Africans.
Migration is a part of history, including ours, with the mining sector built by generations of workers from Cofimvaba to Cabo Delgado. We have an historical obligation and need to help uplift the region that we owe so much to. We need the region and the continent to do well.
This requires other African governments to accept their responsibilities to their citizens, to address the reasons why they are forced to leave due to massive human rights violations, climate change or a complete absence of jobs and economic opportunities.
Our government must do more to ensure our borders are secure, that Home Affairs and the Border Management Authority as well as SAPS and the SANDF have the resources, they need to enforce the rule of law at all times.
Our challenges are many but must be tackled. Migration is in the DNA of humanity and must be managed in a humane and sustainable manner. The marches were a wake-up call that we dare not ignore.
Business Unity South Africa CEO Khulekani Mathe. Picture
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Business Unity South Africa says UIF reform efforts have failed
The decision by Business Unity South Africa (Busa) to withdraw its representatives from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) board and related National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) structures undermines the necessary social dialogue between government, business and labour, the UIF said.
Busa announced its withdrawal from the UIF board and Nedlac structures related to the UIF last week, saying it had tried unsuccessfully for years to get the state-owned entity on the right track.
The UIF responded to this decision saying: “Regrettably, withdrawal from these forums limits opportunities to influence governance outcomes through the mechanisms established for that purpose. This is contrary to the principles underpinning South Africa’s social dialogue framework, which places a premium on sustained engagement, even where significant differences of opinion exist.
“The UIF rejects any suggestion that meaningful governance reform can be achieved outside the established statutory structures or through disengagement from the institutions created to facilitate oversight and social dialogue.
“Robust debate, differing perspectives and critical scrutiny are integral components of good governance.”
Busa and labour federation Cosatu regard the UIF as deeply dysfunctional and have called for it to be placed under administration with the aim of stabilising operations, addressing governance failures and clearing the backlog in benefit claims which Cosatu says can take months if not years to be paid out.
The UIF is funded by contributions from employers and employees and is meant to provide income support during periods of unemployment, maternity, illness, adoption, parental leave, reduced working time, or other qualifying income loss.
The fund has repeatedly received qualified audit opinions from the auditor-general due to weaknesses in internal controls, an inability to substantiate documentation and major ICT challenges. Irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure without any meaningful consequence management has also occurred.
Busa CEO Khulekani Mathe said Busa’s decision to withdraw from UIF structures followed six years of sustained engagement, repeated warnings of maladministration, and ongoing efforts to support reform for the benefit of workers, employers, and the stability of South Africa’s labour market. “Regrettably, these efforts have not yielded the required results,” he said.
“Business remains committed to constructive engagement with government and labour to build a functional and credible social security system that protects vulnerable workers. However, such engagement must be grounded in accountability, urgency, and a genuine commitment to reform. Workers and employers cannot be expected to continue funding a system that fails them when they need it most,” Mathe said.
However, the UIF said that during engagements with its social partners it had consistently advanced proposals aimed at strengthening institutional governance and improving labour market outcomes. These included the need to improve employer compliance with the UIF law, strengthen the financial sustainability of the fund and enhance service delivery.
Further information was needed on Busa’s proposals, including the need to change benefit processes which the UIF said were not in line with the UIF’s process.
It recognised the need to improve the efficiency and timeliness of benefit payments “by addressing the root causes of delays, particularly employers’ failure to submit accurate and up-to-date employee declarations”.
The Council for Medical Schemes has rejected the Government Employees Medical Scheme’s request to reduce its 2026 member contributions increase from 9.5% to 7.5% . krisanapong detraphiphat/Getty Images
The Government Employees Medical Scheme says its request for a lower increase in contributions has been rejected.
It initially announced a 9.8% increase in member contributions from 1 January, then dropped this to 9.5% from February amid fierce pushback from labour, with a promise to settle on a 7.5% hike from 1 July.
But the Council for Medical Schemes is concerned about GEMS’ sustainability if its contributions drop too low.
The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has rejected a request from the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) for a 7.5% average increase in contributions, with workers now set to face a 9.5% increase instead.
GEMS, which has more than 2 million beneficiaries, initially slated a 9.8% weighted average increase for 2026, saying this was necessary to ensure its long-term financial sustainability. However, the Public Servants Association, which represents about 245 000 current and former government workers, slammed the move saying it drastically outpaced public service salary adjustments. The increase was reduced to 9.5% with effect from February, then, in May, GEMS said it would reduce the contribution further to 7.5% with effect from 1 July.
The scheme submitted a proposal to CMS to reduce the previously approved weighted average contribution adjustment from 9.5% to 7.5%, but said on Tuesday that the request had been rejected.
The regulator previously raised concerns about GEMS’ plan to lower contributions, citing risks to financial stability.
“While the outcome is a decline of the proposal submitted by GEMS, we have to respect the assessment of the regulator and address the concerns raised,” said GEMS principal officer Stan Moloabi.
“GEMS remains committed to working within the regulatory framework on future contribution adjustments that balance the quest for affordability with financial sustainability.”
GEMS is the largest restricted membership medical scheme in South Africa, with over 890 000 principal members and more than 2.4 million beneficiaries.
It was created specifically to provide healthcare coverage for public service employees.
In comparison, Discovery Health Medical Scheme implemented a weighted average contribution increase of 7.2% from 1 April. Bonitas raised its 2026 member contributions by an average of 8.8%, while Medshield and Bestmed increased theirs by 7.5% and 6.8%, respectively.
A 48-year-old farm owner and 15 undocumented foreign nationals were arrested during a police compliance operation at a farm in Trichardsdal, Limpopo. Image: File
A 48-year-old farm owner and 15 undocumented foreign nationals are expected to appear in the Lenyenye Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after being arrested during a police compliance operation at a farm in Trichardsdal, Limpopo.
According to police, members of Maake SAPS conducted a compliance inspection at the farm on Monday, June 29, 2026, where they found several employees on duty.
During the operation, officers requested identity and immigration documents after discovering that some of the workers were not South African citizens.
Police said 12 employees were unable to produce the required documentation and were subsequently confirmed to be undocumented foreign nationals.
The workers were arrested at the scene along with the farm owner, who is facing charges of allegedly harbouring and employing illegal immigrants.
Police spokesperson Hlulani Mashaba said they later apprehended three additional undocumented foreign nationals who were also found working on the farm, bringing the total number of arrests to 16.
“The police were conducting compliance duties when they entered a local farm and found a number of employees on duty,” Mashaba said.
“Upon inspection, police requested identities and immigration documentation after it was discovered that some of the employees were not South African citizens.”
The group comprises six women aged between 32 and 43 and nine men aged between 23 and 49. All 15 workers are facing charges related to contravention of the Immigration Act.
Police confirmed that the farm owner “faces charges of harbouring and employing illegal immigrants”.
The arrests form part of ongoing compliance and immigration enforcement operations aimed at identifying undocumented foreign nationals and ensuring employers comply with South Africa’s immigration laws.
All 16 accused were scheduled to make their first court appearance in the Lenyenye Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
Scores of City of Johannesburg workers affiliated with SAMWU gathered outside ANC headquarters on Monday, demanding answers over delays in implementing the R10.3 billion Politically Facilitated Agreement while union leaders met with senior ANC officials. Image: Simon Majadibodu/IOL
While some residents in Gauteng are protesting over illegal immigration, scores of City of Joburg employees affiliated with SAMWU sang struggle songs outside the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters over alleged delays in implementing the R10.3 billion Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA).
Workers from different entities within the City of Johannesburg gathered outside ANC headquarters while union officials met ANC leaders, including Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, to discuss their concerns.
The workers said they were simply demanding what belonged to them. The meeting centred around alleged delays in implementing the R10.3 billion PFA.
In March, the DA in the City of Johannesburg approached the Johannesburg High Court, arguing that the agreement was merely a political tactic aimed at settling scores.
However, the Johannesburg High Court ruled otherwise, paving the way for the municipality to implement its R10.3 billion PFA with municipal workers.
The court dismissed the DA’s application to interdict the agreement. During the proceedings, DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille argued that the agreement was a political tactic aimed at settling scores.
The PFA, which originated in 2016, was only recently included in the city’s adjustment budget.
The DA argued in court papers that the agreement was unlawful and that it could cripple service delivery across the city.
However, the court found that the application for an urgent interdict lacked the necessary urgency and struck it off the roll.
Zille’s court bid prompted a protest, with scores of SAMWU-affiliated employees demonstrating outside the court.
Meanwhile, the union staged songs outside ANC headquarters over delays in implementing the R10.3 billion PFA.
This came as residents in areas such as Soweto continue protesting against undocumented foreign nationals ahead of planned nationwide demonstrations on June 30.
Protests led by March and March, together with more than 20 civil society organisations, are expected nationwide, with organisers calling for undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa by June 30.
Speaking to IOL News, SAMWU (South African Municipal Workers’ Union) Johannesburg regional secretary Thobani Nkosi confirmed that the union had met with the ANC.
“It’s not a demonstration, it’s not a march, it’s nothing. We had a meeting, a general meeting to give feedback to our members. However, we had underlying issues that were presented to the ANC.
SAMWU-linked municipal workers outside ANC headquarters, Luthuli House, over delays in implementing the R10.3 billion Politically Facilitated Agreement. Image: Simon Majadibodu/IOL
“(The ANC) gave us partial feedback. We are here to meet again on Wednesday to then finalise all of those other issues. As per the agreement here, they meet with other departments in government, because they remain a political party.
“However, it’s their employees that have been engaged. So with that said, we are here at the House to purely seek answers on what was presented to us.”
Nkosi said the meeting concerned the PFA.
“Yes, the meeting was about that. The City of Johannesburg has made an undertaking to pay that particular money through the agreement that is signed with the City of Johannesburg.
“And now, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana decided to send a letter to the city claiming that the agreement is illegal. So what informs that? Any contract that has been signed by two parties can only be declared by a court of law (as) illegal.”
He said the minister’s actions had placed all parties into disrepute.
“The city was unable to budget properly for us and it’s not in the budget of the city. Hence, we came here saying, Godongwana must retract that particular letter.”
He said about 35,000 employees were affected.
“And the (amount) we are talking about in total is R10.3 billion. But the city managed, through their budget adjustment for March 2026, they managed to pay 1.2 billion.
“What’s left now is 9.2 billion. And we had agreed that it would be paid in portions. The first portion would be (paid in) March 2026.
“The second portion would be paid now in July. The last one in 2027.”
Addressing the workers, Morero assured them that they would receive the money.
“You remember I previously said that you will get your PFA money? And I repeat again that you will get the money. We have agreed with your representatives from the union that if we don’t have R5 billion, how much do we have, because we can’t have a meeting and say we don’t have anything.”
Morero said there was no way the workers could leave empty-handed.
“We said if we can’t give you R5 billion for now, we can at least (give) something even if it’s R1 billion,” he said to booing workers.
The workers reacted angrily to his remarks.
“I am just saying that you must get something. Whether we like it or not PFA must be paid, however the process is how and when. That’s what we are currently busy with.”
Morero blamed slow revenue collection for the delays.
“What we want from you, especially those from the RSCC (Revenue Services and Customer Care) and revenue department, they are the ones who must assist us in getting this money. Because currently our collection rate is sitting at 84%, it’s very down. If the workers (in the) revenue department can help us reach 90% it will help us fasttrack the PFA,” he said.
SAMWU workers outside Luthuli House following a meeting with ANC leaders on delays in implementing the R10.3 billion Politically Facilitated Agreement Image: Simon Majadibodu /IOL
He again assured workers that the money would be paid.
Meanwhile, Nkosi said the union would wait for the city to fulfil its commitment.
“One, we don’t want to prophesy as to whether the city will pay or not. We still maintain that their commitment means a lot to us. So, we’ll just follow that. And as to what will happen thereafter, it will depend on what they give us and the feedback we give to members. Because we are guided by member systems.”
He said the union would meet Morero again on Wednesday to receive feedback from the ANC.
“That’s why I’m saying I do not want to assume what will happen. That’s our way to get feedback. And then we’ll take it from there. It might be positive, it might be negative. So therefore, let’s just wait (and see),” he added.
The Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein. (Photo: Gallo Images / Volksblad / Mlungisi Louw)
With the Mangaung Correctional Centre set for a state takeover, apprehension mounts for 500 guards caught in a legal battle over job security and operational readiness.
The maximum security Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) housing 3,000 hard-core inmates, faces a moment of truth on 30 June when the facility’s status officially changes from a 25-year private/public partnership to state-run, while 500 highly trained guards stand to lose their jobs.
Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in 2022. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frikkie Kapp)
On 10 June, two weeks before the scheduled handover of the maximum security facility outside Bloemfontein, the Pretoria high court declared as unlawful the Department of Correctional Services’ (DCS’s) emergency intervention at the MCC in the wake of the embarrassing escape of Thabo Bester in 2022.
Bester’s embarrassing breakout involving an incident of arson, a corpse smuggled in a TV cabinet, and his walk to freedom disguised as a prison guard, captured headlines as the convicted rapist became one half of a fugitive couple alongside his partner, Dr Nandipha Magudumana.
Intervention ‘unlawful’
Mopping up the mess, National Commissioner of Correctional Services Makgothi Thobakgale invoked Section 112 of the Correctional Services Act, taking over the facility, a decision now declared unlawful.
The high court ordered that the department repay Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts (BCC), the company which subcontracted G4S, R1.7-million, the cost of the intervention.
The ruling does not, however, affect the looming Tuesday, 30 June deadline when the 25-year public/private partnership with BCC officially ends.
The prison will then fall within the Grootvlei Management Area covering the Northern Cape and Free State and will be incorporated into the Department of Correctional Service’s operational structure.
The Mangaung Correctional Centre. (Photo: Becker Semela)
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) welcomed an April labour court ruling that the termination of the concession had constituted a “transfer” which meant “in clear and unambiguous terms, that all workers employed under G4S will automatically transfer to the DCS, with their jobs protected”.
Popcru stated that the ruling confirmed that the employees of G4S would not be thrown into the cold uncertainty of unemployment, but would instead be absorbed into the Department of Correctional Services. This was a decisive rejection of any attempt to retrench workers under the guise of contractual changes.
However, while the department said it “noted” a labour court judgment that 500 workers previously employed and trained by G4S be absorbed into the new workforce, it had appealed against this judgment.
This is why, come 30 June, the 500 employees stand to be locked out of the facility.
‘Hostile takeover’
While the department informed Parliament on 3 June that it was ready to “assume full responsibility” for the facility, BCC has sounded the alarm, claiming a breakdown in cooperation with the Department of Correctional Services and accusing it of an effective “hostile takeover”.
Daily Maverick has seen correspondence between BCC’s contact agent, Itumeleng Mokoena, the Department of Correctional Services and other relevant departments in which the company states it had made numerous “proactive” attempts at ensuring “a compliant and orderly handover”, but that this had not occurred.
In Parliament, the Department of Correctional Services said it had undertaken an “extensive planning and implementation processes” to ensure “a seamless transfer of operations”. It said it could “confidently affirm” that all systems were in place “for the successful assumption of responsibility”.
A “comprehensive recruitment process” had kicked off at the beginning of June, said the department, and 668 posts, including professional, specialist and artisanal positions, had been advertised in April.
A total of 76 officials and 60 emergency support team officials had been identified, trained and “deployed” to conduct a comprehensive gang profiling exercise at the prison “as part of strengthening security and ensuring a stable correctional environment”, it said.
Unmanaged transition
Mokoena warned in correspondence that an “unmanaged transition could compromise security in a facility with a high number of offenders serving life sentences”.
Because of the department’s appeal against the Labour Court ruling, staff, with years of accumulated knowledge of operational routines, were anxious as the DCS’s court actions “risks the displacement of the personnel who possess the expertise required to manage the institution effectively”.
He noted that the most difficult loss was of a quarter of a century of accumulated knowledge and operational routines, which could not be created hastily through training or policy directives.
Mokoena also said that beyond the prison walls, the transition affected the broader community as the centre supported a wider ecosystem of small businesses and local suppliers, who needed to be managed to prevent an economic fallout.
BCC has described the department’s attitude in the lead-up to the handover as “intention for a takeover—and a hostile one at that” rather than an orderly one.
As of June 2026, he noted, none of the 10 essential requirements for a lawful expiry handover – such as a signed transition protocol or a joint risk register – was in place.
Unannounced visit
In March, the South African National Preventive Mechanism, a body brought to life through an international protocol, paid an unannounced visit to the maximum security centre.
Officials present were Thonoko Modise and Katleho Molapo of the South African Human Rights Commission, Michael Prusent of the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services, Petunia Kekana of the Health Ombud and advocates Chemin Ontong and Judy Thwala of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.
One of their parting concerns in a later report related to the imminent expiry of the G4S management contract and the anticipated takeover.
“During the visit, the facility managed by G4S appeared to maintain a high standard across various areas inspected and observed, including accommodation conditions, food services, skills development workshops, gardening and farming activities, sports and recreational programmes, educational services, cleanliness of the facility, offender uniforms, kitchen hygiene, religious services, and overall command and control measures relating to officials and offenders,” the report noted.
The delegation “expressed concern regarding whether the department will be able to maintain the same standards at Mangaung Correctional Centre following the takeover of the facility”.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on correctional services has also expressed “serious reservations” about the department’s preparedness to take over the management of the Mangaung Correctional Centre, but the department has assured that the handover will be smooth. Come 1 July, its assurances will be put to the test. DM
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ED_444130.jpg "Convicted murderer and rapist Thabo Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in 2022. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frikkie Kapp)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/mangaungprison-bs-20230425.jpg "The Mangaung Correctional Centre. (Photo: Becker Semela)")